Dublin Court Issues Emergency Orders in Four Domestic Violence Cases

A Dublin court granted emergency domestic violence orders to four applicants on Friday, addressing allegations of alcohol abuse, financial threats, and physical violence.

The hearings took place at Dolphin House under the Domestic Violence Act. The applications were heard ex parte, meaning only the applicants were present in the court.

One applicant, a mother with several children under the age of 12, described her household as a place of fear on weekends. She told Judge Gerard Furlong that her husband drank excessive amounts of vodka and used verbal abuse.

The woman recounted a specific Saturday incident where she asked her husband to stop drinking a second bottle of vodka. He shouted at her and called her a "slut" in front of the children. The kids cried and begged him to let her stay in the home.

"People wait for the weekend to have fun but we are afraid of the weekend," the mother said. She stated that previous attempts by family members to stop the drinking had failed and that she had started taking medication for emotional distress.

Judge Furlong agreed that the situation was terrible and noted that the children might not understand the home was jointly owned. He granted a protection order. When the applicant asked if the order could ban her husband from drinking, the judge said that was not realistic but noted that violent behavior after drinking would be a breach of the order.

In a separate case, a woman secured a protection order after a partner she met earlier this year escalated his demands. He initially paid back money she lent him for drug debts and bills but later threatened to use petrol bombs and have her and her adult children stabbed.

The applicant said she gave him several thousand euro while "terrified" of his threats. She also described an instance where he tried to force sexual intimacy despite her refusal. The judge granted the protection order based on these accounts.

A widow obtained an interim barring order against her adult daughter. The woman said she had been staying with a friend for two weeks because she feared for her life. She claimed her daughter, who smokes hash and has a criminal record, had threatened to burn the house down and beat her up.

The widow stated she sits up late waiting for her daughter to sleep because she is afraid of being attacked in her bedroom. She said her daughter had previously damaged her clothes and belongings. The court granted the interim barring order to allow the woman to live in peace.

Another mother received an interim barring order against her son, who uses alcohol and drugs. She reported that he left her daughter bruised from head to toe and smashed the house recently. She said he had to be taken away in an ambulance after being called by gardaí. He had previously worked abroad but returned after losing that job due to drinking.

A man caring for his elderly, ill mother received a protection order against his niece, who also lives in the home. The man said his niece is a crack cocaine user who has become violent. Gardaí have visited the house many times in two years over incidents involving knives and damage to the property. The judge noted the order protected only the man, as his mother would need to file her own application or have the HSE seek one on her behalf.